.@NERSA_ZA announces its determination following @Eskom_SA‘s application for revenue increases for the 3-year MYPD4 period as follows:9.4% increase for FY 2019/208.1% increase for FY 2020/215.2% increase for FY 2021/22

Of course, this impacts all of us, with the poorest citizens set to be hit hardest by the changes. We’ve decided to do some quick calculations on what energy will now cost the consumer, and what the rise in electricity prices means in terms of rands and cents.

Average monthly electricity prices: How we work it out

We took the wattage of each item and multiplied it by the number of hours they are used on average per month to get a kilowatt-hour (kWh) value.

It’s then a case of multiplying the amount of kWh consumed by the energy rate. We used the middle ground of an Inclining Block Tariff applicable to Block 1 for Homepower, which comes to 148.07 cents for every kilowatt hour, when you factor in the 9.4% increase. This is going to give us an “average” value.

This is what we expect your monthly electricity bill to look like. It’s worth noting, these figures are based on the ones provided after the 4.41% rise was implemented last year.

Eskom tariff hike: New average monthly cost per household item

Frequent use

These items are used on average about 180 hours per month:

A 60-watt light bulb: R13.43 – You must multiply this number by how many bulbs your house uses.

A 70cm Television: R22.20

Two-bar Heater / Fan: R96.10 (seasonal)

Home / Desktop computer: R47.95

Geyser: R666.08

It’s imperative that you only use your geyser as and when required – keeping it going for 24 hours of the day over the course of one month could end up costing you thousands of rand extra: Only switch it on before it’s needed, then promptly turn it off.

That 9.4% Eskom increase may not sound like it’s the end of the world for some people, but it’s going to make a massive difference to millions of citizens: We’re now looking at approximately R125 more on our electric prices per month, or an extra R1 500 a year.

You can work out how many “kilowatt hours” your home is clocking up by visiting this nifty page City Power put together: It allows you to count up the appliances you’re using and how long they’re on for. Give it a go!